ALL PHYSICAL MEETINGS, TALKS ETC HAVE HAD TO BE CANCELLED DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK.
However, to fill the void, there are online events organised by the archaeological community. Some are of very short duration so check regularly!

Grab this while you can, a chance to view and download FOR FREE a good big part of the CBA’s back catalogue. Browse the list via this CBA page

JSTOR, publisher of many academic journals/texts has some archaeological content available for free. It’s a bit of a faff finding it because the resources are spread over so many different places but you can make a start here,
Meanwhile we’ll occasionally signpost some of the more worthwhile nuggets people may have missed.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities’ magnificent response to the corona virus is to put on some virtual tours, e.g. this one of the Red Monastery in Sohag.

The British Museum’s blog highlights ways to virtually visit the BM during its shutdown.


Wednesday 25th March there’s a Eltisley History Society talk by Pam Halls on the Cambridge Museum of Technology.
7:45pm for an 8:00pm start @ The Cade Pavilion, The Green, Eltisley PE19 6TN. Members free, or three quid entry.

At the Bedford Museum on Wednesday 25th March the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) is running a drop-in service in the afternoon between 1:00 pm and 3:00pm. So, if you feel you’ve found something of possible archaeological interest take it along for a free appraisal & identification. It’s a FREE service!

Histon and Impington Archaeology Group on Monday 23rd March at 7:30pm for a talk ‘The Black Death: and later outbreaks of the plague in Cambridgeshire’ by Craig Cessford (Cambridge Archaeological Unit). Venue is Histon Baptist Church, Station Road, Histon, three quid in.

Don’t forget that Huntingdon U3A Archaeology Group
meet up on the third Thursday of each month, 11.00am to 1:00pm in Meeting Room 2 of Huntingdon Library, Princes Street, Huntingdon PE29 3PA. So, that’ll be Thursday 19th this month. No other info.

Between 16th & 28th March inclusive Anglesey Abbey
is offering guided tours of ongoing digs taking place there. Booking necessary, further info here. There is also a regular thing for the kids ‘Become a Junior Archaeologist’

Wednesday March 11th 7:30pm for a Huntingdon Local History Society talk by Tom Grimes ‘History and Collections of the Spalding Gentlemen’s Society’. Huntingdon Methodist Church, 17 High Street, Huntingdon PE29 3TE. Admission fee not known.

On Monday 9th March 7:30pm our very own Gamlingay History Society has Sarah Doig presenting a talk ‘Education, Education, Education – Victorian Village Schools’ Venue is the Kier Suite, Eco Hub, Stocks Lane, Gamlingay. £3.00 entry for non-members.

Busy month for the Cambridge Antiquarian Society as their one day Spring Conference on ‘Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in Early Photography and Films’ kicks off at 10:00am on Saturday 7th March. Programme is available here. Usual venue – LG17, Faculty of Law, West Road, Sidgwick Site, University of Cambridge, CB3 9DZ
CAS members £10, non-members £15, pay on the door.

From 5th to 8th March Sawtry Archaeology continue their archaeological geophys & other investigations at Hill Top, Weston. They’re welcoming volunteers interested in assisting, no experience necessary. Contact info@fenarch.org.uk for details.

Wednesday 4th March for a CAFG talk ‘Research on Archaeology in Photography’ by Gwil Owen, former Photographer for the Arch & Anth Department at Cambridge. Venue is the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Downing site, Cambridge. Small donation at the door covers entry.

On Wednesday 4th March, 7:30pm Fen Edge Archaeology Group has a talk titled ‘The excavation of a Mercian king’s enclosure’. Think Mercian border control rather than royal residency for this, the site sat on the border between 8th century competing polities/kingdoms. Richard Mortimer, who oversaw the site’s excavation, gives the talk at the Tony Cooper Suite, Cottenham Village College, High St, Cottenham, Cambridge, CB24 8UA. £3.00 in for non-members.

Monday 2nd March at 6:00pm Cambridge Antiquarian Society
has Prof Stephen Rippon talking on ‘Kingdom, Civitas and County: the evolution of territorial identities in Eastern England in the Iron Age, Roman and Early Medieval periods’. Free entry, the venue is LG17, Faculty of Law, West Road, Sidgwick Site, University of Cambridge, CB3 9DZ.

The Cromwell Museum is closed for renovations until March but it is still organising events e.g. one on Wednesday February 19th at Huntingdon Town Hall, a spooky/gruesome ‘Courtrooms by Candlelight’ guided tour. It’s free! You’ll need to book a space.

Tuesday February 18th The Gransdens Society present a talk in the Reading Room, Great Gransden at 8.00pm. The talk is ‘about the archaeological finds while building the new A14’. No further info to hand.

Monday 17th February 7.30pm for a HIAG talk by Nick Gilmour of Oxford Archaeology East on ‘The Bronze Age in East Anglia: Changing the Landscape and Settlement’. Venue is Histon Baptist Church, Station Road, Histon, three quid in.

Very sad to see that the Information Board near to the Saxon memorial stone was vandalised recently. To say the least, we’re cross about this. And a bit hurt too. The police have been notified but apparently if there’s no evidence to help trace the culprit(s) then there won’t be much they can do. It’ll cost several hundreds of pounds to put right.

A rather fun GamArch AGM took place via Zoom earlier in October and it was great to see quite a few of the GamArch crew turning out for this, our first virtual meet. Of course GamArch being GamArch there was a fair bit of nattering and banter between the more formal stuff of the AGM.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak we’ll not be meeting, digging, fieldwalking or doing pretty much anything as a group for the foreseeable future. There are things happening online though, the Events listing will carry info about them.

The Saxon Heritage Project came to a close in December 2019 with the addition of an Information Board next to the memorial stone in Millbridge Brook Meadows.

Info Board near the Memorial Stone, Millbridge Meadows, Gamlingay

The Info Board  was designed by local historian Jim Brown. Well done to all involved in this 4 year project!

Please Note we do not meet in January – so the next Gamarch meeting will be on February 6th, 2020 (get used to saying that year!) at 7.30pm. We meet @ Blythe Way Community Room (Blythe Way is off Stock’s Lane opposite the EcoHub) Gamlingay, SG19 3EH. Meetings are pretty relaxed and usually last for about an hour, all welcome.

Saxon Heritage Update  – We are well advanced in our plans to provide an information board and marker on Millbridge Brook Meadows to commemorate the Saxon inhabitants of what was to become Gamlingay. Update: Our info/display board has arrived, we plan to install it on the Meadows on Friday 6th December.
Update: We heard very recently that our application to the Gamlingay Community Turbine Tithe Fund has been approved, many thanks to them. The money will cover the cost of an information board (materials, artwork, installation) by the Saxon memorial stone on the Meadows. More info about the Saxon site there and of the re-interment and memorialisation of Gamlingay’s early inhabitants can be found on our Saxon Heritage Project.

Mid-October saw us visiting a site being excavated ahead of house-building. We won’t say exactly where this is because the dig is still running and they have had problems with so called ‘nighthawks’ – illegal metal detecting by unscrupulous treasure hunters. Anyway, what we saw at the dig site was astonishing, a fabulous site. Check the blog (after 8th November) for more info and photos. Update: the site is still in need of protection whilst excavations are winding up and so there isn’t a blog post covering it as yet. Meanwhile, regarding the hugely destrctive impact illegal detecting has on our national heritage, check out this news